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History

Brigadier general

Major general

Major generals by seniority

Lieutenant general

Lieutenant generals by seniority

General

Generals by seniority
General in Chief
Militia generals
Uniform insignia
Pay
Legacy
See also
Notes
References
Further reading

General officers in the Confederate States Army

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(Redirected from Lieutenant General (CSA))
Confederate States Army general officers collar badge

The general officers of the Confederate States Army (CSA) were the senior military
leaders of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War of 1861–
1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army (the regular
army) before the Civil War, while others were given the rank based on merit or when
necessity demanded. Most Confederate generals needed confirmation from the
Confederate States Congress, much like prospective generals in the modern U.S.
armed forces.
Like all of the Confederacy's military forces, these generals answered to their
civilian leadership, in particular Jefferson Davis, the President of the
Confederate States of America and therefore commander-in-chief of the Military
forces of the Confederate States.
History
Robert E. Lee, the best known CSA general. Lee is shown with the insignia of a
Confederate colonel, which he chose to wear throughout the war.

Much of the design of the Confederate States Army was based on the structure and
customs of the United States Army[1] when the Confederate States Congress
established the Confederate States War Department on February 21, 1861.[2] The
Confederate States Army was composed of three parts; the Army of the Confederate
States of America (ACSA, intended to be the permanent, regular army), the
Provisional Army of the Confederate States (PACS, or "volunteer" Army, to be
disbanded after hostilities), and the various Confederate States State militias.

Graduates from United States Military Academy and Mexican–American War veterans
were highly sought after by Jefferson Davis for military service, especially as
general officers. Like their U.S. Army counterparts, the Confederate Army had both
professional and political generals within it. Ranks throughout the CSA were
roughly based on the U.S. Army in design and seniority.[3] On February 27, 1861, a
general staff for the army was authorized, consisting of four positions: an
adjutant general, a quartermaster general, a commissary general, and a surgeon
general. Initially, the last of these was to be a staff officer only.[2] The post
of adjutant general was filled by Samuel Cooper (the position he had held as a
colonel in the U.S. Army from 1852 until resigning) and he held it throughout the
Civil War, as well as the army's inspector general.[4]

Initially, the Confederate States Army commissioned only brigadier generals in both
the volunteer and regular services;[2] however, the Congress quickly passed
legislation allowing for the appointment of major generals as well as generals,
thus providing clear and distinct seniority over the existing major generals in the
various state militias.[5] On May 16, 1861, when there were only five officers at
the grade of brigadier general, this legislation was passed, which stated in part:

That the five general officers provided by existing laws for the Confederate
States shall have the rank and denomination of 'general', instead of 'brigadier-
general', which shall be the highest military grade known to the Confederate States
...[6]

As of September 18, 1862, when lieutenant generals were authorized, the Confederate
States Army had four grades of general officers; they were (in order of increasing
rank) brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general, and general.[7] As
officers were appointed to the various grades of general by Jefferson Davis (and
were confirmed), he would create the promotion lists himself. The dates of rank, as
well as seniority of officers appointed to the same grade on the same day, were
determined by Davis, "usually following the guidelines established for the prewar
U.S. Army."[8]
P. G. T. Beauregard, the Confederacy's first brigadier general, later the fifth-
ranking general
Brigadier general

These generals were most often infantry or cavalry brigade commanders, aides to
other higher-ranking generals, and War Department staff officers. By the war's end,
the Confederacy had at least 383 different men who held this rank in the PACS and
three in the ACSA: Samuel Cooper, Robert E. Lee, and Joseph E. Johnston.[9] The
Confederate States Congress authorized the organization of regiments into brigades
on March 6, 1861. Brigadier generals commanded them, and these generals were
nominated by Davis and confirmed by the Confederate Senate.[2]

Though close to the U.S. Army in assignments, Confederate brigadiers mainly

commanded brigades, while U.S. brigadiers sometimes led divisions and brigades,
particularly in the first years of the war. These generals also often led sub-
districts within military departments, with command over soldiers in their sub-
district. These generals outranked Confederate States Army colonels, who commonly
led infantry regiments.

This rank was equivalent to brigadier general in the modern U.S. Army.
Major general
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger, CSA

These generals were most commonly infantry division commanders, aides to other
higher-ranking generals, and War Department staff officers. They also led the
districts that made up military departments and had command over the troops in
their districts. Some Major generals also led smaller military departments. By the
end of the war, the Confederacy had at least 88 men who had held this rank, all in
the PACS.[10]

The Confederate States Congress authorized divisions on March 6, 1861, and major
generals would command them. These generals were to be nominated by Davis and
confirmed by the Confederate Senate.[2] Major generals outranked brigadiers and all
other lesser officers.

This rank was not synonymous with use in the U.S. Army, where major generals led
divisions, corps, and entire armies. This rank was equivalent in most respects to a
major general in the modern U.S. Army.
Major generals by seniority

Not further promoted

Abbreviations: KIA = killed in action, MW = mortally wounded, NC = non-combat

death

List of major generals by seniority

Evander Mclver Law was promoted to the rank of Major General on March 20, 1865, on
the recommendation of Generals Johnston and Hampton just before the surrender. The
promotion was too late to be confirmed by the Confederate Congress however.
Lieutenant general
Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, CSA

There were 18 lieutenant generals in the Confederate States Army, and these general
officers were often corps commanders within armies or military department heads in
charge of geographic sections and all soldiers in those boundaries. All of the
Confederate lieutenant generals were in the PACS.[10] The Confederate Congress
legalized the creation of army corps on September 18, 1862, and directed that
lieutenant generals lead them. These generals were to be nominated by President
Davis and confirmed by the C.S. Senate.[7] Lieutenant generals outranked major
generals and all other lesser officers.

This rank was not synonymous with the U.S. Army's use of it; Ulysses S. Grant
(1822–1885) was one of only two U.S. lieutenant generals during the war, the other
being Winfield Scott (1786–1866), General-in-Chief of the United States Army 1841–
1861, at the beginning of the American Civil War who also served in the War of 1812
(1812–1815), and led an army in the field during the Mexican–American War (1846–
1849), received a promotion to brevet lieutenant general by a special Act of
Congress in 1855. Gen. Grant was the only U.S. Army lieutenant general in active
service at the time of his promotion on March 9, 1864. Grant became General-in-
Chief, commander of the United States Army ("Union Army"), answering directly to
President Abraham Lincoln and charged with the task of leading the U.S. Army to
victory over the Confederate States Army. The CSA lieutenant general rank is also
roughly equivalent to lieutenant general in the modern U.S. Army.

The Confederate Congress passed legislation in May 1864 to allow for "temporary"
general officers in the PACS, to be appointed by President Jefferson Davis and
confirmed by the Confederate Senate and given a non-permanent command by Davis.[12]
Under this law, Davis appointed several officers to fill open positions. Richard H.
Anderson was appointed a "temporary" lieutenant general on May 31, 1864, and given
command of the First Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Gen. Lee
(following the wounding of Lee's second-in-command, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet on
May 6 in the Battle of the Wilderness.) With Longstreet's return that October,
Anderson reverted to a major general. Jubal Early was appointed a "temporary"
lieutenant general on May 31, 1864, and given command of the Second Corps
(following the reassignment of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell to other duties) and led
the Corps as an army into the third Confederate attack on the United States in July
1864 during the Battle of Monocacy near Frederick, Maryland and the Battle of Fort
Stevens outside the U.S. capital city, Washington, D.C., until December 1864, when
he too reverted to a major general. Likewise, both Stephen D. Lee and Alexander P.
Stewart were appointed to fill vacancies in the Western Theater as "temporary"
lieutenant generals and also reverted to their prior grades as major generals as
those assignments ended. However, Lee was nominated a second time for lieutenant
general on March 11, 1865.[13]
Lieutenant generals by seniority

Abbreviations: KIA = killed in action, MW = mortally wounded

List of lieutenant generals by seniority

General
Gen. Samuel Cooper, CSA

Originally five officers in the Confederate States Army were appointed to the rank
of general, and only two more would follow. These generals occupied the senior
posts in the Confederate Army, mostly entire army or military department commanders
and advisers to Jefferson Davis. This rank was equivalent to the general in the
modern U.S. Army. The grade is often referred to in modern writings as "full
general" to help differentiate it from the generic term "general", meaning simply
"general officer".[15]

All Confederate generals were enrolled in the ACSA to ensure that they outranked
all militia officers,[5] except for Edmund Kirby Smith, who was appointed general
late in the war and into the PACS. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, had also initially been
appointed a PACS general, was elevated to ACSA two months later with the same date
of rank.[16] These generals outranked all other grades of generals and lesser
officers in the Confederate States Army.

The first group of officers appointed to general was Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney
Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and Pierre G.T. Beauregard, with their
seniority in that order. This ordering caused Cooper, a staff officer who would not
see combat, to be the senior general officer in the CSA. That seniority strained
the relationship between Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis. Johnston
considered himself the senior officer in the Confederate States Army and resented
the ranks that President Davis had authorized. However, his previous position in
the U.S. Army was staff, not line, which was a criterion for Davis regarding
establishing seniority and rank in the subsequent Confederate States Army.[17]

On February 17, 1864, Congress passed legislation to allow President Davis to

appoint an officer to command the Trans-Mississippi Department in the Far West,
with the rank of general in the PACS. Edmund Kirby Smith was the only officer
appointed to this position.[18] Braxton Bragg was appointed a general in the ACSA
with a date of rank of April 6, 1862, the day his commanding officer Gen. Albert
Sidney Johnston died in combat at Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing.[19]

The Confederate Congress passed legislation in May 1864 to allow for "temporary"
general officers in the PACS, to be appointed by Davis and confirmed by the C.S.
Senate and given a non-permanent command by Davis.[12] John Bell Hood was appointed
a "temporary" general on July 18, 1864, the date he took command of the Army of
Tennessee in the Atlanta Campaign, but the Congress did not later confirm this
appointment, and he reverted to his rank of lieutenant general in January 1865.[20]
Later in March 1865, shortly before the end of the war, Hood's status was spelled
out by the Confederate States Senate, which stated:

Resolved, That General J. B. Hood, having been appointed General, with

temporary rank and command, and having been relieved from duty as Commander of the
Army of Tennessee, and not having been reappointed to any other command appropriate
to the rank of General, he has lost the rank of General, and therefore cannot be
confirmed as such.[21]

Generals by seniority

Abbreviations: KIA = killed in action

List of generals by seniority

Name Date of Rank[8] Nominated[13] Confirmed[13] Rank Terminated[8]
Reason[8]
Samuel Cooper May 16, 1861 August 31, 1861 August 31, 1861 May 3, 1865
paroled
Albert Sidney Johnston May 30, 1861 August 31, 1861 August 31, 1861 April
6, 1862 KIA, Shiloh
Robert E. Lee June 14, 1861 August 31, 1861 August 31, 1861 April 9,
1865 paroled
Joseph E. Johnston July 4, 1861 August 31, 1861 August 31, 1861 May 2,
1865 paroled
P.G.T. Beauregard July 21, 1861 August 31, 1861 August 31, 1861 May 1,
1865 paroled
Braxton Bragg April 6, 1862 April 12, 1862 April 12, 1862 May 10, 1865
paroled
Edmund Kirby Smith August 21, 1862 February 19, 1864 May 11, 1864
May 17, 1865 paroled
John Bell Hood July 18, 1864 - - January 23, 1865 Temporary Rank

During 1863, Beauregard, Cooper, J. Johnston, and Lee all had their ranks re-
nominated on February 20 and then re-confirmed on April 23 by the Confederate
Congress.[13] This was in response to debates on February 17 about whether
confirmations made by the provisional legislature needed re-confirmation by the
permanent legislature, which was done by an Act of Congress issued two days later.
[22]
General in Chief

The position of General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States was
created on January 23, 1865. Gen. Robert E. Lee, the only officer appointed to it,
served from February 6 until April 12.
Militia generals
Main article: Militia Act of 1792

The Confederate states had maintained militias since the American Revolutionary
War, consistent with the U.S. Militia Act of 1792. They went by various names such
as State "Militia", "Armies", or "Guard" and were activated and expanded when the
Civil War began. These units were commanded by "Militia Generals" to defend their
particular state and sometimes did not leave the state to fight for the Confederate
Army. The Confederate militias used the brigadier and major general officer ranks.

The regulations in the Act of 1792 provided for two classes of militia, divided by
age. Class one included men from 22 to 30 years old, and class two consisted of men
from 18 to 20 years and from 31 to 45 years old.[23] The various Confederate states
used this system during the war.
Uniform insignia
Main article: Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States

All Confederate generals wore the same uniform insignia regardless of their general
rank,[24] except for Robert E. Lee, who wore the uniform of a Confederate colonel.
The only visible difference was the button groupings on their uniforms; groups of
three buttons for lieutenant and major generals and two for brigadier generals. In
either case, a general's buttons were also distinguished from other ranks by their
eagle insignia.
Joseph Reid Anderson in a CSA brigadier general's uniform.
Rank Collar insignia Sleeve insignia Buttons
General General (all grades)
(all grades) General (all grades)
(all grades)
Lieutenant General Groups of three buttons
Major General Groups of three buttons
Brigadier General Groups of two buttons

To the right is a picture of the CSA general's full uniform, in this case, of Brig.
Gen. Joseph R. Anderson of the Confederate Bureau of Ordnance. All of the
Confederate generals wore uniforms like this regardless of their general grade, and
all with gold-colored embroidering.
Pay

The general officers of the Confederate States Army were paid for their services,
and exactly how much (in Confederate dollars (CSD)) depended on their rank and
whether they held a field command or not. On March 6, 1861, when the army only
contained brigadier generals, their pay was $301 CSD monthly, and their aide-de-
camp lieutenants would receive an additional $35 CSD per month beyond regular pay.
As more grades of the general officer were added, the pay scale was adjusted. By
June 10, 1864, a general received $500 CSD monthly, plus another $500 CSD if they
led an army in the field. Also, by that date, lieutenant generals got $450 CSD and
major generals $350 CSD, and brigadiers would receive $50 CSD in addition to
regular pay if they served in combat.[25]
Legacy

The Confederate States Army lost more general officers killed in combat than the
United States Army throughout the war, in the ratio of about 5-to-1 for the
Confederacy compared to roughly 12-to-1 for the United States.[26] The most famous
of them is General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, among the best-known Confederate
commanders, after General Robert E. Lee.[27] Jackson's death was the result of
pneumonia which emerged subsequently after a friendly fire incident had occurred at
the Battle of Chancellorsville on the night of May 2, 1863. Replacing these fallen
generals was an ongoing problem during the war, often having men promoted beyond
their abilities (a common criticism of officers such as John Bell Hood[28] and
George Pickett,[29] but an issue for both armies), or gravely wounded in combat but
needed, such as Richard S. Ewell.[30] The problem was made more difficult by the
Confederacy's depleting workforce, especially near the war's end.
The last Confederate general in the field, Stand Watie, surrendered on June 23,
1865, and the war's last surviving Confederate full general, Edmund Kirby Smith,
died on March 28, 1893.[31] James Longstreet died on January 2, 1904, and was
considered "the last of the high command of the Confederacy".[32]

The Confederate States Army's system of using four grades of general officers is
currently the same rank structure used by the U.S. Army (in use since shortly after
the Civil War) and is also the system used by the U.S. Marine Corps (in use since
World War II).
See also

American Civil War portal

List of American Civil War generals (Union)

List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate)
General officers in the United States

Notes

Eicher pp. 24–25. This resulted from the Confederacy's adoption of the U.S. 'Rules
and Regulations of the Army' as their own, just with "Confederate States of
America" put in wherever "United States of America" was in its text.
Eicher, p. 23.
Eicher, p. 23. "Actually, commissions in the ACSA were usually one grade higher
than the former commissions in the U.S. Army, while commissions in the PACS usually
amounted to whatever was suggested by the size of the volunteer unit accepted into
the Confederate service."
Dupuy, p. 190.
Eicher, p. 24.
Wright, p. 9. Confederate Congress Act of 16 May 1861, section 2.
Eicher, p. 25
Eicher, p. 807.
Eicher, p. 817.
Eicher, p. 810.
promotion was not confirmed by the Confederate Senate
Wright, p. 13. Confederate Congress Act of 31 May 1864.
Eicher, pp. 787-8.
Eicher, p. 808.
The usage of the somewhat incorrect term "full general" is very unofficial, but
commonly occurs in modern military writings; referring to a colonel as "full"
and/or "bird" colonel (as compared to a lieutenant colonel, who ranks behind them)
in U.S. forces also occurs.
Eicher, p. 787.
Eicher, p. 69.
Wright, p. 12.
Eicher, p. 141.
Eicher, p. 303.
Wright, p. 13. Confederate Senate Resolution, 16 March 1865.
Eicher, p. 26.
Eicher, p. 70.
Eicher, p. 69. The original regulations for uniforms were issued when the
Confederate States Congress authorized only brigadier generals. These regulations
were never reissued when the higher ranks of generals were authorized later.
, Katcher, p. 60.
Foote, p.1040. Of 583 U.S. general officers, 47 were killed due to combat; of 425
C.S. general officers, 77 fell.
Jackson biography at Civil War Home.
Dupuy, p.346. "an excellent brigade and divisional commander, he was out of his
depth with larger commands."
Dupuy, p. 597. "his abilities were not suited to directing larger forces, as
demonstrated at Five Forks."
Dupuy, p. 244. "but it was a mark of the South's desperation for able leaders that
a man with his disabilities should have spent so much time on active campaign."
Dupuy, p.406.

Warner, p. 193.

References

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, and Bongard, David L., Harper Encyclopedia of
Military Biography, Castle Books, 1992, 1st Ed., ISBN 0-7858-0437-4.
Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford
University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
Foote, Shelby, The Civil War: A Narrative: Vol. III Red River to Appomattox,
Vintage Books, 1986, ISBN 0-394-74622-8.
Katcher, Philip, The Army of Robert E. Lee, Sterling Publishing Co., 1994, ISBN
1-85409-174-3.
Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Gray: The Lives of the Confederate Commanders,
Louisiana State University Press, 1959, ISBN 0-8071-3150-4.
Wright, Marcus J., General Officers of the Confederate Army, J. M. Carroll &
Co., 1983, ISBN 0-8488-0009-5.

Further reading

Evans, Clement A., Confederate Military History — Volume I, Confederate

Publishing Company, 1899, Atlanta, Ga., facsimile reprint by The National
Historical Society, 2008.

vte

American Civil War

Categories:

Confederate States Army generalsMilitary ranks of the Confederate States Army

This page was last edited on 3 May 2023, at 18:51 (UTC).

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